cross-posted from: https://veganbtw.net/post/28 > We're just getting started, and brainstorming on some new communities to start. Felino/caninotarians welcome!

Abstract: > Alternative pet foods may offer benefits concerning environmental sustainability and the welfare of animals processed into pet foods. However, some worry these may compromise the welfare of pets. We asked 2,639 dog guardians about one dog living with them, for at least one year. Among 2,596 involved in pet diet decision-making, pet health was a key factor when choosing diets. 2,536 provided information relating to a single dog, fed a conventional meat (1,370 = 54%), raw meat (830 = 33%) or vegan (336 = 13%) diet for at least one year. We examined seven general indicators of ill health: unusual numbers of veterinary visits, medication use, progression onto a therapeutic diet after initial maintenance on a vegan or meat-based diet, guardian opinion and predicted veterinary opinion of health status, percentage of unwell dogs and number of health disorders per unwell dog. **Dogs fed conventional diets appeared to fare worse than those fed either of the other two diets. Dogs fed raw meat appeared to fare marginally better than those fed vegan diets.** However, there were statistically significant differences in average ages. Dogs fed raw meat were younger, which has been demonstrated to be associated with improved health outcomes. Additionally, non-health related factors may have improved apparent outcomes for dogs fed raw meat, for three of seven general health indicators. We also considered the prevalence of 22 specific health disorders, based on predicted veterinary assessments. Percentages of dogs in each dietary group considered to have suffered from health disorders were 49% (conventional meat), 43% (raw meat) and 36% (vegan). Significant evidence indicates that raw meat diets are often associated with dietary hazards, including nutritional deficiencies and imbalances, and pathogens. **Accordingly, the pooled evidence to date indicates that the healthiest and least hazardous dietary choices for dogs, are nutritionally sound vegan diets.** Holy shit!! Might be a good paper to reference against the argument that feeding dogs vegan diets is animal cruelty.

Dumbest carny bullshit I've ever heard


This is a bit of venting, sorry in advance. I think I forgot for most of the year. I was actually looking forward to the San Fermines, the local week long festival of Iruña, my hometown (Euskal Herria/Spain). A few friends are visiting, there are barracas (funfair and attractions), and at night a beautiful display of fireworks (they are still of the noisy kind, though). I just went to the first protest and it dawned on me: it's a festival of torture. I suddenly remembered the horrible images of animal cruelty and torture of every year, the imagery, the glorification of the murderer... And we can do nothing. The protests don't change anything. Most people are actually against the "running of the bulls" here, but still, no one cares enough, and nothing changes from year to year. I hate myself much more than I hate them. They don't care. I care, and still, I don't do more than attending these protests. I don't even know what else I could do... I'm becoming unsensitized and I'm just scared. And this is just the visible part, everytime someone eats meat at my table and I remember... But most of the time I don't even think about it. How do you not forget and not go crazy? Is there a way???

It's really good. I am not used to vegan cheese being so similar to cow cheese ^^ Times are changing.

This is an article wrote by a known person which analyzes modern society based on the influence of Peter Singer.

So, most commercial almond orchards actually ship in bees from beekeepers to pollinate them every year, and as you might assume, the bees aren't having a good time. Having their hives transported long distances is extremely stressful for them (notably, bees won't poop inside their hive, and having to hold it in for hours cause severe health issues) the fact that they're pollinating a monoculture is detrimental to their overall health, and these intense pollination sessions drastically reduce the lifespans of the worker bees. Actually, this isn't *just* for almonds, though that's the most infamous. Plenty of crops rely on this practice. What are your thoughts? Are these plant-based foods not vegan because animals were exploited in their production? How, if at all, would your thoughts differ for an orchard that had local bees on site instead of shipping bees in? I don't think any large scale orchard relies on wild bees, so that's probably not applicable unless you're buying super local, like, your friend who has an almond tree in their back yard local.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/279993